It also freezes over

I thought I would give anyone who still follows this blog a little shock and throw up a quick post.

When I accepted the new gig at TRU, it was in the hopes that the comically-vague title of “Director, Innovation” would lead to more time for exploration, research and writing. So far it has not turned out that way, my days are busier than anything I’ve experienced in years. But all is more than well. A few scattered updates:

* As winter descends on Paul Lake (see Keira’s photo above, taken less than an hour ago), we are still loving the quiet life. Dexter, in particular, seems to be benefitting from the frequent long hikes on the many nearby mountain trails. Keira has turned into a wood-stove savant, and tends her contract work in Vancouver from a distance. Harry commutes to town with me, and is thriving at his arts-focused school.

* I need to blog about an epic Open Ed 2012, and David Kernohan’s wonderful follow-up visit to The Loops. I always find the peak experiences hardest to blog about, have to learn to get over that…

* Lots of good stuff cooking here. We have the go-ahead and some resources to launch our own version of the UBC Wiki, there is already a community of WordPress users here and hopefully we can take that up a notch in the new year. Every day I meet committed educators and researchers who are committed to finding creative ways to make this university the best it can be, which is pushing me to learn in so many novel directions… On the good days (which, I’m happy to report, is almost every one of them) I feel like this is a place that is poised to do some truly special things. The days usually go by in a dizzying blur of possibility, promise, and fun.

* I expect we are going to kick the ferment into full boil tomorrow. A full day event facilitated by the wonderful Sylvia Currie in a lovely spot overlooking Kamloops Lake, with 45 hardy and adventurous souls sharing our dreams for this place. Among our special guests are my long-time collaborator and mentor Jeff Miller, and The Bava will venture out of his domestic splendour to do the whole Jim Groom thing with us. Such is the pull of The Bava that we will even have Clint Lalonde (one of my favorite bloggers of late) joining us as a guest.

I’m kinda looking forward to the after-party… In a sense it will be a celebration of a new, exciting and so far highly rewarding chapter in our lives.

Didn’t go whole hog and get AWD… the extra cost and effects on mileage scared us off. But Blue Steel is handling the roads admirably so far. (Though the driveway presents its own challenges that I shant relate here…)